Pam, here is what I'm saying. There were actually men and women that practiced malovent witchcraft. All but maybe two of the women hanged were innocent. Those hanged, for the most part, were hanged because they would not lie and say they were witches. The girls were not play acting when they accused those women, they were in the throes of hysteria, brought on by their honest belief in the occult. Did the people who believed they were witches fly on brooms? No, but they believed they had power and others believed that, just like Voodoo today...and yes as you Southrons say, it was a different time, much more so than even the 1860's.